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1992 Suzuki Gs500F Massive Oil Leak

Started by MattsLegit, June 13, 2022, 06:41:54 PM

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MattsLegit

Hello Guys Thanks for the Awesome Forum.

I have a 1992 Suzuki GS500E 7500 Miles. Its been sitting for about a year and a half before I bought it.
I got it running everything was good to go for a test ride. Rode for about 7 minutes at a traffic light
the oil light came on and I shut the bike off. Looked down and about a half a quart of oil or more was every where on the bike.
Got it back home with a truck and topped the oil back off. Turned the bike on to check where the leak was coming from and the oil light stayed on unless revved slightly. So I immediately turned the bike back off.

I cant seem to pinpoint the oil leak because I cant run the engine.
any Ideas on what could of failed or what to check for first.
Could the Oil pump of failed and leaked? Or could it be that bad of a leak it wont get oil pressure?

Any input is appreciated.

HPP8140

check your work...oil filter cover, drain plug, dipstick
2002 GS500 105K mi

MattsLegit

I checked and they are all clean. Its mainly all over the left side of the motor and on the back side then coated the rear of the bike.

HPP8140

#3
then try removin the sprocket cover and check the clutch push rod oil seal
2002 GS500 105K mi

MattsLegit

I'm not sure what the Clutch Oil seals supposed to look like. It seems it has a little bit of gap around it if I push the rod slightly to one side.
I also noticed on the bottom of the housing cover in the picture there is some oil and pieces of O rings from I'm not sure where.

herennow

The oil light came on after the oil heated up and oil pressure dropped below the pressure sensor limit (normally very low). Did you change the sump gasket? there are two types (fared or unfared) , some sellers will sell the wrong one (assholes) some assholes will order the wrong one (me, once.).

Thats a best case scenario, worst case is the leak was there with the DPO (dreaded previous owner) and he/she ran the oil dry and wiped out the bearings.  (sorry if I'm the bearer of bad news)

Clean bike, run it on the center stand to look for the oil leak, fix oil leak and then throw a pressure gauge on to check what is going on. 

Most parts places will sell a cheap and nasty pressure gauge for not too expensive with a long plastic tube (keep away from exhaust) that you can run up to the dash and tie in place with cable ties. You can then go for a 20 minute ride and monitor oil pressure.

mr72

One modification to the good advice from herennow... if you get a pressure gauge, check the pressure with it parked and running in the driveway before going on a 20 minute ride. Rev it a bit, make sure oil pressure is good. A 20 minute ride with shot bearings or bad oil pump will likely seize the engine.

Now, having chased oil leaks on my GS (still has one... they never end on a 30+ year old motorcycle...), I think the amount of oil leaking from under the clutch cover is not enough to cause low oil pressure. That's not the likely source of the catastrophic oil leak. That gunk piles up there from a seeping seal. Under every cover on my bike there's gunk like that. Maybe you put the wrong oil filter in? A bad crank bearing would make a knocking noise, and it'd be a very bad coincidence for it to have a bad crank bearing and a massive oil leak at the same time. That's also why I wouldn't yet suspect the oil pump is bad. Unlikely to have both a bad oil pump and a huge oil leak all at once.

The standard oil leak finding technique is to clean the engine so it's spotless with something like Simple Green and a pressure washer and then coat it in talcum powder. Start it up and briefly run it enough to get the oil pressure up. You did a 7 mile ride on the road with it in this state, another 5 minutes with no load in your garage is probably not going to ruin it any more than it is already, and if it does, then whatever you broke was on its way out anyway. The source of the oil leak should be obvious with talcum powder.

It could be blowing past the rings and leaking out of the intake boot, FYI. It doesn't have to be crankcase. Also, there's a mechanical tach portal on the head in the front, could be leaking there, or the cam cover gasket, which is known to leak and if it hasn't been changed, is definitely antique and cracked by now (it's rubber). Could also (likely) be the bottom gasket under the jug, or a blown head gasket, which could come from overheating. The oil on the engine while riding ended up there because wind blew it there. Hot oil is very viscous and will run wherever the wind blows it, along the inside of the cylinder cooling fins where you can't see it, etc., and always winds up on the side of the crankcase and your foot. That doesn't mean it was leaking from the side of the crankcase.




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